For members receiving payments from a transition to retirement or income stream account. Check your account balance, update contact or beneficiary details, or change how your account is invested (including Cbus Self Managed).

Monthly highlights

The Growth (Cbus MySuper) option returned 1.12% for the month of December 2017.

The Target Portfolios remained unchanged during December, however they changed on 19 January 2018.

The Australian share market ended the month up 1.86%. International shares were up by 1.28% on a hedged basis in December.

The Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5% at its December meeting.

*This estimate is based on inflation data for the 10 years to 30 September 2017 as inflation data is only available quarterly. It is based on a weighted average of the investment performance objective over the past 10 years.

**SuperRatings is a ratings agency that collects information from superannuation funds to enable performance comparisons. The SR 50 Balanced Survey includes investment options that are broadly similar to the Growth (Cbus MySuper) option, as these funds are all diversified with an allocation to growth assets of between 60% and 76%. SuperRatings data is for December 2017.

Growth (Cbus MySuper) investment objective

From November 2015, a return objective of at least 3.25% p.a. above the rate of inflation, after investment fees and tax over a 10 year period, expected to be achieved at least 75% of the time, with a likelihood of a negative annual return being 3 in every 20 years.

Over the past 10 years, the Growth (Cbus MySuper) option has outperformed its investment objective and outperformed the SuperRatings SR50 Balanced median.

**Returns for all Super Income Stream options are not yet available for the 10 year period.

Market overview

Markets had mixed returns in December, with the Australian sharemarket performing strongly.

The Australian share market was higher in December, rising by 1.86%. International shares had mixed performance, with Chinese shares falling in value over the month while the UK market had a big rise.

The best performing sector was Energy this month, up 6.52%, and the worst performing sector was Utilities, which was down by 4.48%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left interest rates on hold at its December meeting.

The Australian dollar rose to finish just above $0.76 against the US dollar at the end of December.

Source: Datastream, Frontier Advisors, Citigroup and JP Morgan. The investment market returns represented above are not Cbus asset class returns. They are returns for each market as measured by standard market indices. More information on these market indices can be found in the Glossary. For unhedged international shares and market shares, when the Australian dollar falls against currencies in major share markets, and there is no currency hedging, international market returns in Australian dollar terms are higher.

Source: Datastream. Monthly sector returns are represented by the S&P/ASX 300 (Accumulation) sectors for the month ending December 2017.

Asset allocation (actual)

Super options

Growth (Cbus MySuper)

Conservative Growth

High Growth

Conservative

Cash Savings

Australian shares

27.2%

17.9%

39.8%

10.5%

0.0%

International shares

23.8%

16.1%

34.8%

9.6%

0.0%

Private equity

4.8%

2.7%

7.1%

0.4%

0.0%

Opportunistic growth

3.3%

1.9%

4.9%

0.2%

0.0%

Infrastructure

10.0%

8.0%

7.0%

5.0%

0.0%

Property

10.9%

8.6%

6.4%

6.1%

0.0%

Alternative debt

6.6%

7.7%

0.0%

8.4%

0.0%

Fixed interest

5.9%

19.7%

0.0%

35.1%

0.0%

Cash

7.6%

17.4%

0.0%

24.7%

100.0%

Growth / Defensive allocation split

72.8% / 27.2%

50.8% / 49.2%

93.3% / 6.7%

30.5% / 69.5%

0.0% / 100.0%

Transition to Retirement options

Growth

High Growth

Conservative Growth

Conservative

Cash Savings

Australian shares

25.0%

39.8%

17.0%

10.5%

0.0%

International shares

23.0%

34.8%

16.0%

9.6%

0.0%

Private equity

5.0%

7.1%

1.5%

0.4%

0.0%

Opportunistic growth

3.5%

4.9%

1.0%

0.2%

0.0%

Infrastructure

11.0%

7.0%

9.0%

5.0%

0.0%

Property

11.0%

6.4%

10.1%

6.1%

0.0%

Alternative debt

7.0%

0.0%

6.7%

8.4%

0.0%

Fixed interest

6.0%

0.0%

21.9%

35.1%

0.0%

Cash

8.5%

0.0%

16.8%

24.7%

100.0%

Growth/Defensive allocation split

71.0% / 29.0%

93.3% / 6.7%

48.4% / 51.6

30.5% / 69.5%

0.0% / 100.0%

Fully Retired options

Growth

High Growth

Conservative Growth

Conservative

Cash Savings

Australian shares

27.5%

42.9%

19.0%

11.5%

0.0%

International shares

20.5%

31.7%

14.0%

8.6%

0.0%

Private equity

5.0%

7.1%

1.5%

0.4%

0.0%

Opportunistic growth

3.5%

4.9%

1.0%

0.2%

0.0%

Infrastructure

11.0%

7.0%

9.0%

5.0%

0.0%

Property

11.0%

6.4%

10.1%

6.1%

0.0%

Alternative debt

7.0%

0.0%

6.7%

8.4%

0.0%

Fixed interest

6.0%

0.0%

21.9%

35.1%

0.0%

Cash

8.5%

0.0%

16.8%

24.7%

100.0%

Growth/Defensive allocation split

71.0% / 29.0%

93.3% / 6.7%

48.4% / 51.6%

30.5% / 69.5%

0.0% / 100.0%

Note: Growth assets include Australian Shares, International Shares, Private Equity, Opportunistic Growth, 50% of Infrastructure, 50% of Property and 50% of Alternative Debt. Defensive assets include Cash, Fixed Interest, 50% of Infrastructure, 50% of Property and 50% of Alternative Debt.

Figures are subject to rounding. Actual asset allocation is current as at 31 December 2017. Asset classes are the building blocks of our investment options. We allocate different proportions to each asset class with the aim of meeting each option’s investment risk and return objective. By investing across a range of asset types, the risk of loss is reduced through diversification.

We periodically review our investment strategy and believe that the Growth (Cbus MySuper) option is well positioned for growth over the medium to long term, while maintaining some defensive exposure. Cbus’ investment options, with the exception of the Cash Savings option, are broadly diversified across asset classes.

The Target Portfolio for each option is reviewed at least quarterly, with a threshold level of change required before the Target Portfolios of the non-default options are amended.

Glossary

Investment type

Market index

Australian shares

S&P ASX 300 Accumulation Index

Global shares – currency hedged

MSCI All Countries World Ex-Australia Index (Hedged, $A)

Global shares – currency unhedged

MSCI All Countries World Ex-Australia ($A)

Emerging markets – currency unhedged

MSCI Emerging Markets ($A)

Australian unlisted property

MSCI/IPD Australian Property Pooled Index

Australian bonds

Bloomberg AusBond Composite Bond Index

Global bonds

Citi World Government Bond Index (Hedged, $A)

Australian cash

Bloomberg AusBond Bank Bill Index

Disclosure

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. All Cbus performance and return figures disclosed in this investment update are based on the crediting rate, which is the return minus investment fees, the Trustee Operating Cost and taxes. Excludes account keeping administration fees.

The information is about Cbus. It doesn’t take into account your specific needs, so you should look to your own financial position, objectives and requirements before making any financial decisions. Read the Cbus Product Disclosure Statement to decide whether Cbus is right for you, or call 1300 361 784 for a copy.